


Moulting Season

by Asylos



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, M/M, Post-AC, cranky pants, feathers - Freeform, moulting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-09-28 04:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10070735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asylos/pseuds/Asylos
Summary: Cloud discovers why Sephiroth is so cranky.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Illusioneery (ArkeeBee)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Illusioneery+%28ArkeeBee%29).



> A retelling of an imagining discussed with Arkee. (I hope it's not too terrible for a quick on the bus written ficlet.)

The first time, Cloud was baffled. They had been fighting, one on one, the others unable to keep up with their frenzied pace and soaring leaps. Sephiroth's wing was throwing feathers about with every movement. Cloud had breathed one in, which lead to an embarrassing coughing fit that he had been sure his opponent would take advantage of to stab him again. Sephiroth watched him though, waiting, with an irritated look on his face. Once Cloud had started breathing again, he found himself pushed back against the wall. 

Sephiroth knocked the sword from his opponent's hand and took hold of his wrist. He awkwardly thrust Cloud's hand at his wing, dragging the blond's fingers down the feathers. Cloud stared at him, dumbfounded. Sephiroth growled in frustration and repeated the motion until Cloud caught on and did it himself. It wasn't long before Sephiroth let out a deep sigh of relief and let his head fall against Cloud's chest, his wing slouching at the side. Cloud slid down the wall, letting Sephiroth fall into his lap. He kept running his fingers through the feathers, gently pulling out the loose ones. He started to hear soft snoring and tried not to laugh. Was this the problem all along? He spotted Tifa coming up to check on him, and gave her a thumbs up. The fight was over for now. 

It happened again the next two days. The others weren't even bothering to stop what they were doing to join the fight anymore. 

The fourth time Sephiroth appeared, Cloud didn't bring his sword at all. He walked up to his nemesis, and reached for the wing. Sephiroth flinched back, a look of confusion on his face, but Cloud had gotten a good grip on it. Masamune vanished in a puff of smoke as Cloud started to work on the wing again. "Still want to fight?" he asked softly. 

"No.. maybe next time."

"Okay. Whenever you're feeling up to it. Hey listen, the rocks here are a real pain in the ass. Why don't we go somewhere else? I have a bed we can sit on."

"Okay..."

Tifa said nothing as Cloud led Sephiroth up the stairs to his room. She quietly gathered the kids and closed up for the day. 

Cloud quickly realized that the way his bed was arranged left him nothing to lean against. When Sephiroth fell asleep again, Cloud had nothing to support him and he fell back against the bed, trapped under the sleeping man. He did the best he could to keep detangling the feathers that hung off the side of the bed, until he was lulled to sleep by the warm weight on top of him. 

On day five, Sephiroth knocked on the door of the bar and Tifa let him make his own way upstairs. She covered their sleeping forms with a blanket when she checked on them later, and knew no one would be woken during the night by Cloud's night terrors. 

On day six, Sephiroth opened Cloud's door to find a second bed shoved next to his usual one. He frowned. "Have you been feeling crowded?"

Cloud sat up, putting the book he had been reading on the table. "It's hard to reach all of you when your wing is half on the floor. It needs more support. This will be better."

"Oh."

Cloud got up and pulled Sephiroth through the doorway, closing the door behind them. "Stretch out and give it a try," he encouraged. Once the man had complied, he sat down on the bed with him and started to massage the muscles of his wing. He smiled softly at the happy noises coming from his patient. 

On day eight, Sephiroth stood in the doorway of the bar, but did not enter. He held Masamune in hand. Cloud put down the stool he had been carrying and asked him what was wrong. 

"I'm finished moulting now. We should fight."

Cloud pulled off his gloves, tucking them in his belt. "I'll be the judge of that." He grabbed Sephiroth's empty hand, leading him to the stairs. Masamune vanished into smoke again. 

Once they were up in his room, Cloud shoved Sephiroth back into the bed and straddled him. He spread the wing out and meticulously checked through the feathers, gently tugging out the broken ones. "You're in no condition to fight. You take terrible care of yourself. No wonder you always lose." 

Sephiroth tried to sit up, a growl passing from his lips. Cloud shoved him back down with one hand, "I won't fight you at less than your best, so you just settle yourself down and let me look after you." 

Sephiroth collapsed back with a huff, shifting to make himself more comfortable. "Fine."

Cloud smiled down at him, "Good. First a nap, because you are definitely cranky. Then dinner." 

Sephiroth grabbed Cloud, pulling him down. "I hope you make as good of a blanket as you do a pillow, or I will be quite disappointed."


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (So this wasn't supposed to exist but PT Tucker is a terrible influence. Written between matches of Warframe.)

"So it is true. You've returned to Gaia from the Lifestream yet again. However this time I've managed to find you. Shall we test if the Goddess has truly given you the reward of eternal life?"

The man ahead of him froze in spot, turning slowly. "Genesis."

"In the flesh," the redhead said with a flourishing bow. He raised his sword and pointed it at Sephiroth. "Would you care to dance, old friend?"

Sephiroth frowned and shook his head. "It is good to see you alive and well, but it has been a very long day. Perhaps another time."

Genesis blinked at him. Had his great rival just refused his challenge? He looked the man over, noting the tattered feathers falling from his wing, the tired wrinkles around his eyes. "You do look a bit out of sorts. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"That is no business of yours." He made a mock salute, and started off down the dirt path again, considering the matter closed. "Perhaps tomorrow."

"Perhaps tomorrow indeed." Genesis flapped his wing and took to the sky, landing as discreetly as he could in a nearby tree. He would follow his old friend and see what could possibly be more important than his glorious return. 

Sephiroth walked into the clearing, suppressing a sigh of relief when he saw the blond was indeed still waiting for him, leaning back against a tree with a book in hand. 

"You look like shit," Cloud said as he looked up towards him. 

"I am well aware." He plopped down in Cloud's lap as soon as he was close enough. "Make it better."

Cloud laughed and pulled Sephiroth's head against his chest, kissing the top of it. "I'll see what I can do." He started gently running his fingers through the feathers of his wing, pulling carefully on the loose feathers that were tangled together with the ones that were still attached. Sephiroth quickly fell asleep as he worked.

A soft chuckle came from the trees at the edge of the clearing, making Cloud frown. "Seph?" he whispered, "There's someone here." Sephiroth mumbled in his slumber but did not wake. 

There was a soft thump and breaking of twigs as a figure dropped down from the trees. Cloud stared, trying to scrounge up a memory to give a name to the man. 

"So this is what you're doing these days, is it?"

Sephiroth's eyes snapped open and he was on his feet faster than Cloud could see, his sword in hand. "Get out of here, Genesis."

Cloud's eyes widened. Genesis. He did remember that name. He regretted leaving his blades back with his bike. What had he been thinking... He decided his safest move at this point was to not move. The two soldiers seemed quite intent on each other for the moment. 

Genesis chuckled again, holding his hands up in front of him. "Do calm down, Sephiroth. I was merely curious what had captured your attention so thoroughly. I must say, I'm not too surprised. You always were fascinated by Zack's little friend."

"Leave," he growled. 

"No, I don't think I will. I have no intentions of hurting your little pet, and you're still in no mood to fight." He used the fingers of one gloved hand to push the sword aside as he walked closer to the pair. He stopped in front of Cloud. "What was your name?"

"Cloud."

"Leave him alone, Genesis."

Genesis ignored Sephiroth and sat in front of Cloud. He extended his wing to full length. "Put those hands of yours to good use and fix up my feathers too, would you?"

"What?"

"I think I made myself perfectly clear. Did you think the mighty general is the only one irritated by itchy feathers? It seems to be an issue that plagues any winged creature."

Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, who shrugged. "I suppose there's no harm in that. A few minutes, then you leave, Genesis."

"Yes, yes. I'll be out of your hair in no time, and you can go back to your nap."

"I was not napping."

"Me thinks he doth protest too much," Genesis said before glancing back at Cloud. "Well?"

Cloud reached out carefully, starting at the end of the wing. He started by gently nudging the loose feathers free, making a decent sized pile of them on the ground. It was clear Genesis was just as bad as Sephiroth at looking after his wing. Though he supposed it would be really awkward for them to do it themselves with the way the wings were positioned. 

Once the loose feathers had been knocked free, he started working on the rest of them. He barely noticed Genesis leaning closer until the man had fallen asleep against him. Cloud laughed, quietly of course. 

Sephiroth came and sat beside him, resting his head on Cloud's shoulder. "He's really not so bad when he's not talking."

"Mm. I should start charging for my services."

"Don't you dare."

"What, don't want to have to get a job so you can afford me?"

"I don't want everyone else taking up time that should be mine."

Cloud smiled, "Fair enough. Shall we abandon your old friend to his slumber and find somewhere more private so you can get 'your' time?"


	3. A Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's back again, and he brought something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheonmaneyeo and PT Tucker (again) are to blame for this bit.

"Oh do go away, Genesis," Sephiroth said as the red clad figure pushed his way through the trees into the clearing once again. They had managed to avoid him for several weeks, but it seemed their luck had run out when they decided to try their favourite haunt again. 

Genesis smiled and held up his hands. "Ah but I bring a gift this time!" He reached behind him and pulled forward a dark haired figure. 

Cloud jumped to his feet, unceremoniously dumping Sephiroth from his lap. "Zack? What-when-how-not-dead-you?!"

Zack shrugged with a sheepish grin, "Hi Spike."

"'Hi Spike'. This is your response. Ah, fuck it, I don't care how." Cloud marched over and grabbed Zack in a tight embrace. 

Genesis plopped down beside the dejected Sephiroth and lay with his head on the man's thigh, wing drapped over him to stretch out.

"I don't care what presents you bring him, you're not taking him from me," Sephiroth said grumpily.

"We used to share things."

"We never shared. We're both too selfish."

"Alright but we /could/ share."

"I don't think so. So where did you dig him up?" Sephiroth unconsciously ran his fingers through Genesis' hair. 

"Underground lab," Genesis said, sighing happily at the attention, "got a tip off someone who decided if they told me something interesting, they might get me out of their way for a bit. Been down there a while, from what I could gather."

"Find anyone else?"

"You know I'd have started with that if I had. Far easier to bribe you off."

"Too much to hope I suppose." Sephiroth leaned back against the tree. Genesis merely mumbled a non-committal hrmph. 

Zack grunted and tried to squirm away from the blond's tight hold. "You're a lot stronger than I remember. I could use some breathing room, Spike."

Cloud loosened his hold but refused to let go entirely. 

"I'm not going anywhere. Relax."

He sighed and relented. "You've been gone a long time, Zack."

"Yeah, so I gather." He ran his fingers through his hair, then decided to ruffle Cloud's hair instead. "I hear you saved the world while I was gone though. A few times!"

"Well someone had to, since you were slacking off by being dead."

"'Slacking off.' Ha. Good to see you're still a little shit," Zack grinned before tackling his friend to the ground. "Still ticklish?"

Zack grunted as he found himself tossed over and off of his friend, landing on his back with a soft thump. "Okay, clearly my time in a tube has not done me any favours. Let's try this again when I remember how to kick your ass."

Cloud snorted and rolled onto his side, resting his head on his hand. "Sure sure. Take your time. I'll be waiting."

Zack kicked himself up to his feet, stumbling a bit, then cheering silently as he recovered without anyone noticing the misstep. He held a hand out to Cloud and helped him to his feet. "Wanna see something cool?"

Cloud pursed his lips thoughtfully, "I don't think that question ever led to anything but trouble."

"Oh shut up," Zack said, swatting him. He closed his eyes, scrunching them up in concentration. The air around him seemed to move and shimmer, and a pair of wings appeared from his back. 

Genesis jolted upright, nearly knocking his head into Sephiroth's in the process. "What the hell," he hissed. 

Sephiroth chuckled behind him, "Looks like your plan backfired. He's got more feathers to be groomed than you do."

"You're no better off," Genesis grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest. Sephiroth merely smirked, knowing he'd get the attention he wanted later anyway, which did nothing but irritate Genesis further. With a dramatic sigh, the redhead flopped back over again. "The Goddess has abandoned me, dear friend. Forever to suffer."

"So I hear you've taken up pet grooming?" Zack grinned, gesturing back towards the other soldiers. "Got room in your schedule for more?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, that's it. No more of this. I'm not falling for any more comments of "what about with this character anymore".


End file.
